Democratic Primaries
Related: About this forumCold War Between Biden and Mayor Pete Suddenly Burns Hot
The Daily BeastFor months, former Vice President Joe Biden and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg have avoided any major direct confrontation during the sporadic gloves-off skirmishes of the Democratic primary. Biden, the former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Buttigieg, a veteran of the Afghanistan war, have each sought to make cogent commander-in-chief cases on the campaign trailhardly ever at each others expense.
But with just over a month until caucusing commences, the unpredictability of the political cycle has turned the notion of an inevitable winner upside down, with two of the leading contendersa 77-year-old established politician and a 37-year-old Beltway neophytenow on a collision course over one of their most powerful shared interests.
The two men have markedly different approaches to highlighting contrasts with their rivals. Biden, who has reliably topped national polls since launching his campaign in April, tends to employ a simple approach: Stay (mostly) out of the fray; attack (mostly) only when attacked; and try, with varying degrees of success, to stick to the script.
Buttigieg, whose final term as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, officially ends at noon on Wednesday, prefers the opposite. When Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) hesitated for weeks to release financial details of her health care proposal, for example, the mayor made sure to note that resistance during a televised debate in front of millions of viewers. When Warren hit back in a subsequent event for Buttigiegs frequent appearance at high-dollar fundraisers, he reminded viewers shes the wealthy personnot him.
Now, with the two moderate Democrats just three percentage points away from each other in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two early voting states that tee off the nominating contest in mere weeks, Buttigieg has gone on a rare offensive against Biden. The mayor has criticized the former senators Iraq War votea favorite line of attack from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who was opposed to the effortand changed his tone on Bidens son Hunter, who has been the subject of a coordinated misinformation campaign from President Donald Trump.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
RandySF
(59,420 posts)And kids play compared to the 2008 primary.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Dennis Donovan
(18,770 posts)Still willing to show my disdain for the 3 year election cycle. No one wins, except the political establishment (they make buku off this early nonsense).
JFK announced his candidacy on January 2, 1960 (60 yrs ago tomorrow), *less than a year before the actual election*.
If $$ in politics concerns you, this is Exhibit A.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
The Valley Below
(1,701 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Thekaspervote
(32,809 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
ritapria
(1,812 posts)is that Joe Biden is gaining in Iowa at the expense of Mayor Pete, according his campaign's internal polling data ..It is just speculation ..There has not been a published Iowa Poll for quite a spell ..
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
judeling
(1,086 posts)At this point. I expect the next set of polls will not show an Iowa lead for ex-Mayor Pete.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
SCVDem
(5,103 posts)Dems attacking Dems just to fuck their opponents.
Just stop! Unite and win.
I will not survive this country at tRump 2.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
rickyhall
(4,889 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
Hav
(5,969 posts)unless they are the last two standing which I think is unlikely.
Biden isn't the one dishing it out, only returning the favor, often mild, when someone attacked him. Pete, too, wasn't someone I saw as going after the others in such a way and we'll see how the base reacts to his recent comments. I don't think going beyond current policies when attacking another candidate has helped any of the candidates who tried that so far.
It's exaggerated to call the current climate between the two as "burning hot", though.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Response to brooklynite (Original post)
dalton99a This message was self-deleted by its author.
UniteFightBack
(8,231 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden